Americans' breakup with passenger cars is finally taking a toll on the auto industry.

Although increased sales of crossovers, sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks made up the difference for the last few years, plummeting sales of cars was too much to bear in February.

On top of that, the market for crossover vehicles is becoming crowded, and it's a recipe for a drop in overall sales.

"The pie is shrinking" this year, though it remains "a very strong market," said Michelle Krebs, analyst with Autotrader.com.

Overall, U.S. new vehicle sales declined 2.4% for the month, compared with a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.

Analysts at Edmunds.com and Cox Automotive had projected declines of 4.1% and 4%, respectively.

Blame most of the drop on waning interest in compact cars, mid-size sedans and full-size cars. Design preferences are shifting to roomier rides, and steady, low gasoline prices have given consumers confidence in buying bigger vehicles.

“Automakers are slowing production of passenger cars to react to declining demand and are also trying to find the right balance between keeping sales strong and becoming too dependent on costly incentives," wrote Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of industry analysis.

That's not necessarily terrible news for the industry, though. Poor-selling cars are the industry's least-profitable models.

Interest in larger, more profitable vehicles remains high. Analysts expect 2018 auto sales to remain strong from a historical perspective, although likely down from 2017 and not threatening 2016's record of 17.6 million vehicles sold.

F-series pickup trucks, which qualify as the best-selling U.S. model, charted their best February since 2000. The model was up 3.5% to 68,243 vehicles.

Fiat Chrysler

Edmunds forecast: -12.6%

Cox Automotive forecast: -7.9%

Actual results: -1.4%

Fiat Chrysler had a surprisingly strong month given expectations for a much sharper sales drop. The company sold 165,903 vehicles in the U.S. for the month.

Jeep led the way with a 12.3% sales increase, the only major brand with an uptick. Ram was down 14.1%, Chrysler fell 3.4%, Dodge declined 8.4%, and Fiat slumped 42.1%.

The Jeep Compass, remade in 2017, looks like a hit. Sales totaled 16,025 in February, making it the brand's second-best seller.

Toyota

Edmunds forecast: 0%

Cox Automotive forecast: -2.5%

Actual results: 4.5%

The Japanese automaker posted a surprisingly solid month with total sales of 182,195 vehicles.

The company sold more crossovers, SUVs and pickups in February than ever before, rising 10.5%. Passenger car sales fell 3.1% despite a strong performance for the company's redesigned Camry, which increased 12.2% to 30,865 vehicles.